Devotional by Ray Stedman – Laughing at the impossible – A daily devotion for June 15

Topic:Laughing at the impossible
READ THE SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 18: 9-15

Is there something difficult for God?
Genesis 18: 14a

Sara’s laughter is cynical, incredulous. If this were the whole story, we would be tempted to say that this woman is not an example to follow. But in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, we find the rest of the story. There, in that room of the famous, the name of Sara appears: “By faith also Sara herself, being sterile, received strength to conceive; and she gave birth even outside of the time of her age, because she believed that he was faithful who had promised “(Hebrews 11:11).

Once the guests left, Sara was still thinking about what she had heard, and the words of the Lord touched her heart with a special power. The special question God asked him was: “Is there anything difficult for God?” When Sara thought about it, she had to face that question. He began to think of the Creator, the One who had called out of nowhere the vast universe in which we live and, beyond that, the worlds that revolve around us in the unlimited expanses of space; the one who sustains day by day all the powerful and complex forces of the earth, making the sun rise in time, guiding the planets in their courses of rotation, forecasting human events, and centuries later makes happen exactly what He had promised. When Sara thought of the One who had said these words, He felt the full force of the question: “Is there anything difficult for God?” And she went beyond the contrary acts of her own life and said: “Of course not. There is nothing that is too difficult for the Lord. If He has made a promise, it will be fulfilled. ” Through faith, she received the power to conceive when she was past her age. Sara considered that He who had promised was faithful.

What a precious lesson this is about the nature of faith! Faith is something that looks beyond all contrary circumstances to rest in the character of the One who had promised it. Do not let yourself be deceived by the popular deception that faith stands on its own, that it is enough to believe anything! It is necessary that the faith rest in some promise. Anything else is nothing but presumption, credulity and foolishness. But when God has given a word, it is the Word of God, and we can trust it in spite of circumstances, feelings or anything else, since is there anything that is too difficult for the Lord?

Do you find it difficult to be what God wants it to be? Do you find it difficult to manage your evil nature in the place of death? It is not too difficult for the Lord! Do you find it difficult to be a sweet, kind, forgiving and loving person when you feel the unpleasant, deviant and ungrateful you can be inside? It is difficult for you, but it is not too difficult for the Lord! Does it seem impossible to you that the friend you are praying for will never be converted, or that the one who is rebelling against grace can be transformed? Is it too difficult for the Lord? Does it seem to you now that there is some work that God is asking you to do, and believe that it is impossible to do it? It may be difficult for you, but it is not too difficult for the Lord.

Lord, help me to believe that, in the midst of my situations that seem impossible to me, nothing is impossible for You.

Application to life
When God asks us for something that seems impossible to us, do we rely more strongly on our own resources or do we go forward in faith based on His total sufficiency?